Question

When entering an expressway from the entrance ramp, what should you do?

1) Use the acceleration lane to blend into the traffic
2) Go down to the bottom of the ramp and stop until it is safe to enter the expressway
3) Cross over to the traffic lane as soon as possible

Answer 1

To safely enter an expressway from an entrance ramp, one should use the acceleration lane to match the speed of traffic and merge when it's safe. Example calculations can aid in verifying the adequacy of ramp design for a safe merge.

Step-by-step explanation:

When entering an expressway from the entrance ramp, you should use the acceleration lane to blend into the traffic. This means you should accelerate to the speed of the traffic already on the expressway and merge safely. Stopping at the bottom of the ramp is not advisable unless traffic conditions dictate otherwise; crossing over to the traffic lane should be done with caution and only when it is safe to do so, without disrupting the flow of traffic.

Now let's consider an example that helps to understand the process: A car merges into freeway traffic on a 200-m-long ramp. If its initial velocity is 10.0 m/s and it accelerates at 2.00 m/s2, one can calculate the time it takes to travel the 200 m up the ramp. This would be important for a traffic engineer to know to ensure that the length of the ramp allows for a safe merge.